32 F predicted for tonight and again for Sunday night. The bugs in the yard are already lethargic;
yesterday I took this photo of a praying mantis hugging an iron table leg. The critter was still there today so I took it over to a potted plant and blended it in.
Later I was pulling out some of the spent petunia plants from the front
garden and came across a hummingbird moth.
It appreciated the warmth of my hand and did not want to let go. I nested it into a healthy plant (far away
from the mantis). Later I saw the moth
go airborne only to attract the attention of a late season robin. Even as cold and lethargic as it was, the
moth easily looped the determined robin and took sanctuary in a fully leafed
scarlet dogwood bush. In the back yard,
blue jays were flitting from bush to tree and back again, feasting on the
sluggish insects while rabbits ventured about, unconcerned with the yearling
red-tailed hawk screaming from the nearby woods.
Without a doubt, I am still that little kid from so many
years gone by, adventuring in the wonderful world of nature that exists in the
tiny yard where I play.